Housing Reports

News Feature

Investing in Rural America

Senator Marin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, has released a report that provides a detailed examination of the state of the rural economy and the policies that may help advance opportunity in rural areas, including opportunities for affordable housing. Investing in Rural America points out that rural residents enjoy higher homeownership rates than their urban counterparts but have fewer adequate and affordable rental homes available, particularly in Indian Country. It also notes that rural areas have limited access to mortgage credit and that community banks can fill critical gaps left by big banks. Finally, the report emphasizes the importance of investing in housing revitalization, which can help attract and retain a high-skilled workforce and enable aging rural residents to remain in their communities. (The Senate Joint Economic Committee, June 2018) (Report available below)

Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard annual assessment of the housing market, demographic trends and housing challenges faced by U.S. households.

The report highlights a number of topics, including that renter households are still widely cost-burdened, the nation’s multi-family housing inventory remains tight at the lower end of the market, and federal housing assistance to low-income households continues to fall short of demand. According to JCHS, 20.8 million renter households were cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and nearly 11 million renter households were severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing.

A minimum-wage worker can't afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.

The Out of Reach report shows the Housing Wage for every state, metropolitan area, and county in the country. The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home without spending more than 30% of his or her income on housing costs. The report compares the Housing Wage to average renter wages and minimum wages, as well as wages in the fast-growing occupations, nationally. The report also shows how many hours an individual must work each week for all 52 weeks per year at the prevailing minimum wage to afford a modest one- and two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent. Out of Reach 2018 also provides Housing Wages for ZIP codes in metropolitan areas.

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